ITC Judge to Determine if Samsung Copied Apple Using 'Cheech and Chong' Test

Posted June 1, 2012 at 3:22pm by iClarified | Please help us and submit a translation by clicking here | 7832 views

Determining whether Samsung copied the design of the Apple iPhone may hinge on the 'Cheech and Chong test' described by an ITC judge today, reports Bloomberg.

"Does it look like it, feel like it, smell like it?" U.S. International Trade Commission Judge Thomas Pender said at the beginning of Apple's patent-infringement trial against Samsung, referring to a routine in which the comedy duo identified dog feces.

Apple is accusing Samsung phones and tablets of copying their designs and infringing on patents related to the user interface and headset plugs.

"Not content to copy the overall design and interface, Samsung has copied the smallest detail of the iPhone," Apple lawyer Harold McElhinny of Morrison & Foerster told the judge in opening arguments today in Washington. "Samsung copied our original and iconic design."

Next week another trial begins at the trade agency where Samsung will bring its own patent-infringement claims against Apple.